Black Bullets, Purple Blood
by C.F.Winchester. Finalage
Summary: Rantarou has to tell Enju one day...she must know how close she is to death...but what if there was a way for him to...take on her pain for himself?
1. Numbers

Life Returns, Life Prevails.

Corruption.

Corroding corruption that seeps into the lungs from the pungent,stagnant air of a world gone, to put it bluntly, to the crap-sack.

Poverty, Loss, Deprivation, Pain, Hate...and Fear.

Eons upon Eons worth of fear to fill the nooks and crannies of every soul, hundreds of millions of them.

Rentaro sighed as he grasped the paper in front of him with both hands.

He proceeded to rip it carefully, methodically, into shreds, and then gather them up to rip them again. He continued this methodical, careful action until the shreds where too small for him to grasp properly to rip anymore. Continuing to mutilate the pieces by rolling them up and sticking them in a glass of water, he kept a blank, detached look as he went about this business.

Once the paper was all stuffed into his glass, he swilled the contents around, having lost interest in drinking them, obviously.

He rose from his seat and dumped the sodden mess into the sink.

47.4% Percentage till critical breakdown...2.6%

The glass crashed against the counter, missing the sink by a good foot as a shard from it's thick bottom pinged off and flew away somewhere.

He didn't care to look where.

He could increase the frequency of the shots... No. They were too busy, Enju would get suspicious... and that only slowed the process... It didn't stop it.

It _couldn't_ stop it.

He'd have to tell her. Under his shaking hand, the glass protested his continued abuse with a rather ominous pop that predated a crack. The crack hadn't come yet, but it would...when he lost control.

There was an instability factor. He knew this. It could let her maintain it, at a knife's edge, up until 52-53%...but that instability factor worked backwards too...for 47 or 48... She was already in the red zone.

The glass cracked. Still ever the trooper, it didn't shatter.

Yet.

His mind brought up an image, unbidden.

Of Fuse.

Of Senju.

He shook his head once, violently, as if trying to throw something off with one sharp move.

His hand shook. The glass gained another crack. A mere drinking glass defying him? Surely you jest!

"Rentarou?"

With a sound akin to an imploding fish tank, The glass shattered with such force that a few shards soared and cut his cheek. The glass was like powder on his fingers. His bloody fingers. He spun around and a fleck of blood landed on Enju's cheek.

He had crushed the glass with his left, human, hand.

"Rentarou? Are you..."

"I'm fine."

His voice was hoarse, and just a bit too quick. Enju took a look at the imploded glass, but couldn't see any indicator of what was going on. She adopted a sly smirk.

"Drinking down some courage for a proposal?"

Her growing leer only made him feel worse. Here she was, joking, unknowing. His face tried it's best to give out a normal response, and he succeeded in morphing it into the typical deadpan. He responded accordingly.

"What the hell...propose?"

"I accept!"

He smacked his forehead in exasperation. Unlucky for him, it was with his glass powdered hand. He didn't notice until he saw some red drop unto the counter.

"Rentarou!"

"Yeah. I know. Crap. I'll get it everywhere."

"You've...um.."

"Enju, can you get me a towel please?"

"You've still got some...on your face."

_Great._

"...I'll be in the bathroom."

Enju perked up instantly.

"Is that an invitation?"

If he wasn't wary of getting more blood everywhere, he would have performed another facepalm.

"No."

The door slammed shut, leaving Enju with glass dust covering the counter and blood on her cheek. Inexplicably, Tina wandered in at this time too...and despite getting better...she was still nowhere near a morning person. Her sleepy eyes gave tell before it happened, but Enju still had to snap out of herself when Tina poked the counter and rose a finger to "taste" what the shiny little shards were. She grabbed her hand just in time.

"Glass, glass! Not spice!"

+-1-+

It was the weekend today, so of course, Enju and Tina took possession of the T.V. Not that Rentrou minded...there was nothing on there for him to watch.

Besides the news, and honestly in his line of work, he got the calls for trouble before the news could tell him about it anyway.

As for the weather, Rentarou hadn't even been thinking about getting an umbrella.

It was always raining around him...and that rain wasn't always water. Key reason he didn't own one. They didn't stop acidic spit or contaminated blood from getting him and well...

Never take up a useful hand with a useless umbrella in a fire fight.

The last thing you have to worry about was bullets of rain when it starts raining bullets.

No, Rentarou was left to the turmoil of his mind.

He couldn't stop.

When he looked at Enju he had to wonder every time.

Did she look any different?  
>Were her eyes just a tad more red?<br>Skin a bit more pale?  
>Was she a bit more nauseous as they walked by the new monolith?<p>

His eyes shifted to Tina and he forced himself to look away. 41.3% Percent till critical...damn it, he knew how percent's worked! Why did they always put that? Who DIDN'T know?

The show the two of them were watching ended, and he got up and shut off the T.V.

Enju pouted at him, and was about to call him out when he spoke rather flatly to them both.

"It's time for your shots."

Enju's mouth shut, but her pout didn't lessen any. He quietly got the setup prepared, and was proud that he was able to keep his body relaxed and his face blank, his work efficient, neat.

He had...gotten to the point where people's deaths and suffering didn't effect him anymore.  
>Just like he had hoped not to.<p>

He took a deep breath as he packed away the supplies, take a slightly longer than necessary glance at the vials laid out neatly in the case. He idly wondered if sticking in a small overdose would help stave off the increasing corruption, but the thought was squashed before it could even begin to think about taking root. The "vaccine" he gave them was also a kind of poison in it's own way, and over dosing it would do no good and far too much harm. You didn't win a losing war by throwing more manpower at it. No; that wasn't the right way.

He shut the case with a definitive snap. Once he locked it he looked up and met a set of dully red eyes. They were as locked on him as the case was locked by his hands. One of which was still wrapped in a bandage. _I have to tell her._

"Enju-"

An ugly ring from his phone cut him off. He reached and snapped it off his belt with irritation.

When he finally decides to try and set the scene to tell her, of COURSE some form of trouble would pop up.

His voice had a touch of impatience in it when he answered, but it was still within polite bounds...just in case.

"Hello?"

The voice on the other end was vague, low and full of something that Rentarou could only describe as well hidden fear.

Well hidden... ...but not well enough.

"I need to speak with you. Now. No one else. Just you."

Before he could even gather his brains about himself, she had hung up.

Seriously? What kind of a call was that?

That was Sensei wasn't it? So what if it was? Was she going to tell him what he already knew? That Enju and Tina were well within the red zone? That he would soon have to put a veranium bullet in both their skulls? He knew this.

He didn't need it rubbed in his face constantly.

But still...he might as well go and see. He'd bring Enju and Tina with him.

He'd have to tell them.

En Route.


	2. Predictions

Bottom of the chapter for review responses~

I have a poll up, but voting is not a requirement.

When preparing to write this chapter, I had to put myself into the mood. Took me longer than usual because something seemed wrong with all my media files. Had to refresh them all and reload my library. Works now.

I was sorta surprised that I received such a nice reception for this.

_**Chapter One: Predictions**_

The fire burned merrily, happily unaware of the freezing tension between it's hard faced patrons. It caught a flake of dry wood and popped it with a sharp crack when the two came close, face to face.

"_Let me make a prediction, Satomi-kun."_

_The voice was like a snake across the grass, worming it's way into Rentarou it's hiss poison, it's bite ecstasy..._

_Pain was a wonderful, wonderful tonic, and that voice dripped it like a cracked pot brimming with honey._

"_...You will come to me on your own; one day."_

_He faded into the darkness..._

"_...I'll never be like you..."_

"_...I was like you once...you hate me because you envy me. Envy my freedom. Behind this mask...is YOUR face."_

"_...Just remember...as much as you hate me for my freedom...I hate you. I hate you and your ability to live among them. I DETEST you."_

"REN-TA-ROU!"

Rentarou didn't snap up, or jump, he didn't do any of the silly things people usually did when startled. He simply snapped his gun straight and pointed at the source of the noise, the trigger half cocked.

He was pointing at Enju's forehead.

Hie eyes widened as his brain took into over drive.

A hospital bed. Or a street, blood everywhere...and one small figure.

With purple blood flowing out, pulsing, growing, living.

_One day I'll have to do it...just...like...this..._

The gun didn't fall from his hand, and though his eyes were widened, they were the only indicator of his shock until he narrowed them. His hand did not even shake as he re-holstered the gun and let his hand drop.

"Don't do that. I could have shot you."

Enju huffed at that. Yeah. Right. Rentarou, shoot her. Puhleease.

"Thinking of a quiet little alley to steal me away too-"

Rentarou overrode her before she got too far on that line.

"We're going to see Sensei. All of us. I've also got something to tell you, but It'll have to wait..."

He sighed, his face deadpan as he realized he'd have to fuel both girls imagination inadvertently.

"...and yeah, Ill have to say it in a quiet, dark alleyway."

Enju, instead of getting sly, perked straight up and became rigid like a board.

"So...so bold! I'm...not certain I'm ready for such boldness..."

He felt like face palming again, but even though his hand had no more glass, he'd had enough self inflicted pain for today...and he still had more to dish. Of the emotional kind.

Glutton for punishment.

Rentarou set a pace, and the other two fell in behind. Tina's eyes bored into his back, and so did Enju's, but he didn't speak, just set the pace. Soon the whispering would start.

Right on time, Enju turned to her "wingwoman" and started a series of hissing Rentarou didn't bother trying to listen in on. He was already trying to prep himself for war.

To bad he hadn't prepared for a fight instead.

Japan, what was left of it after so many wars with the Gastrea, was a sickly, deteriorating thing. Fallen power wires, burnt buildings, broken windows, boarded up doorways...and the thin veneer, spread too thin for even the eye to be fooled, of normalcy and prosperity. The sky might as well have been stormy gray instead of the mildly cloudy that it was. I would fit better.

As he stopped by one of the few still working street lights, a sound like tin ball bearings being tossed around in an iron blender started up.

Oh who was he kidding, it was gunfire. He took a deep breath and jerked his head towards the sound of the noise. A few flashes of light and then a woman burst out of a doorway, and behind her, a bloody, crazed looking man. Behind the two of them, another bloody, sick looking woman hobbled.

This world was like a freaking circus. He swore.

"Tina, Enju. Please stay."

The two of them looked at him in confusion. I mean, sure; Tina didn't have her weapon on her, but they both were far stronger and faster than they looked...especially Enju, being a rabbit model. Rentarou however, did not see their faces when he looked at them. He was bodies without faces, only a red, hollow place where the head should be...with numbers.

The dreaded, dreaded numbers. He blinked and it was gone.

His resolve however, was not. He drew his gun and repeated his order.

"Stay. Please."

Tina smiled, and Enju's face became leery.

"Keeping the ladies clean for the confession scene?"

Rentarou didn't respond, just turned and ran off.

The world slowed. Slowed to a crawl as Rentarou ran forwards. Sometimes the shift made him sick. One eye slowing everything down, seeing everything in such hyper realism, while the other saw everything at the same speed, but somehow...faster. Like it was missing more to keep up Skipping frames.

How can both eyes show the same thing, in the same amount of time and still have one be slower, more detailed than the other?

He skidded to a halt and took in the scene. The crazed man had fallen to the ground panting and staring at the steps...the sickly woman was now at the top of them, looking fearful. He took a good look.

She...was not the one he was after.

Shifting quickly and jumping away barely in time, he avoided the explosion of flesh and bone as the man writhed and sprouted sickly yellow and black legs from his back. The force sent legs spinning in the air, purple...he had no other word for it but goo...seeping out of them unto the roads. It seemed to have yellow, glowing eyes, and pulsed...but Rentarou shifted his attention to the giant, hulking arachnid in his sights.

Standard Gastrea. Nothing too serious. The head of the victim, spilling blood and fluid everywhere as it spun around, fell from the beast. Rentarou shot it away to stop it spilling juice all over the place. Might as well just have it blow up in one area than spin out over a wide one.

It happily obliged by exploding upon being shot, littering it's limited area with gunk everywhere. Rentarou leveled his gun to the threat at hand, ignoring the pink bits. His first shot aggravated it. But his next was to a leg joint and it suddenly was missing two legs. Said legs went flying, but are we really going to go into detail about where those two delinquents went?

Rentarou focused and shot once more, but the spider, having enough, shifted to the side and charged him.

Gritting his teeth, Rentarou jumped backwards and took aim for the head. His shot caused a few of it's eyes to burst, and the thing jerked back in pain. Meanwhile, Rentarou landed and braced off of the road, taking aim again.

_Inside of me, I have the power to turn you all into mincemeat!_

_You hate me for my freedom..._

_Do you know why Varanium is Black? ...It's the solidified essence of my soul, my hatred._

_I'll never..._

"I'll never be like him."

He fired the last of his shots right into the head and intersection for the body, spraying..._juice_...everywhere. The beast had already half regrown it's legs, but Rentarou dared it to regrow it's head.

Just let it try.

It didn't. Instead it just keeled over and smashed into the sidewalk, it's legs taking a few power lines with it...

and just like that, yet another stop light and walk sign joined the ranks of the inoperable.

A sound like wet paper being smacked against the ground brought his attention to his back, where the sickly woman had been.

He said had been accurately, as he saw the bloody remains of a twitching hand and a new, moth like Gastrea stretching it's wings. To Rentarou, the sky darkened.

Freedom be damned.

Screw protocol. Rentarou left his own thin veneer of normalcy burn away. What was left was black...

Black and blue.

He could be poetic and call them bruises, but really.

Nobody has time for that.

His Varanium limbs now visible, he kicked off, blasting into his new foe with abandon as the bile in his throat rose. His fist connected solidly with the beast and a foot nearly blasted a hole into it before he realized he was in pain.

His body was on fire.

Not the outside.

The inside. His insides burned. All along his Varanium additions the pain roared at him like a cornered beast would to frighten a potential predator. He ignored it. He punched his foe down to keep it grounded and leveled it's face in with a foot to it. He punched it into activation point blank, blasting a hole through it's brain. Gastrea poisoned blood flew everywhere, but Rentarou had no time for niceties.

This was what happened to people when they got to far, when they broke that 50% threshold.

He would have to tell Enju. Tina.

He would not let them become these...mindless things.

He almost said monsters...but then he took at look at his own foot.

He had no right to call anyone a monster.

He let the body fall. He didn't even have to bother to wait for the representatives. They were already there. His company would get the proper payment and status recognition for it. Not that he much cared. He walked towards Enju and Tina, not catching the glance that passed between them.

He'd have to find that alleyway...

_**+~E~+**_

Much of this chapter I felt like I was being sketchy with detail and with character persona. It felt very OOC and off putting to me. However, I do plan to resolve this issue soon.

Levi97100 – I do have a pairing in mind for this story; however, it will take a bit of effort before I can get to that point. I do have a few ideas for the in between period though. I hope they satisfy.

NattenRaseri – More is given.

TheGreatWhiteNortherner – I do plan to make this multiple chapters, as this has proven, however, updates maybe be sporadic, knowing me.


	3. Fate

This chapter was deleted and had to be re-written. This twas my fault, as I cut the power to my laptop while it had no battery in, after saving. Even if I save, I must close my word program, otherwise it tries to flash save and fails.

Even if I saved a single split second before.

Ain't that just smashingly stupid?

I had a good chapt too. Oh well.

This time, better.

Chapter Two: Fate.

Rentarou walked along the desolate streets, eyes straight ahead, not bothering to drink up the scenery.

It was a rather bitter cup of Joe he didn't want dredging about in his stomach at the moment.

Instead, he tossed his gun into an over flowing waste bin as he passed, earning him and odd lood from Tina and making Enju pause to scoop it up out of there.

Thankfully it had landed in a dry spot. A single centimeter or so to the left and it would have splattered in cheese and blood. And ugly combination that smelled of vampire pizza and rancid spit.

Don't ask him any questions and he'd tell you no lies about that.

"Rentarou...why did you throw it out? It only needs more bullets..."

Rentarou didn't bother to answer her, for at that moment he stopped short in front of an alleyway.

It was, perhaps, the darkest and grimmest one he had yet to pass today. It wasn't particularly dirty and as far as h could see, Gastrea free, but it seemed to hold an air of despair that matched his mood.

"The world is shit and I am not going to lie about it."

That's what he felt this alley was saying. A bit blunt, but he was feeling rather blunt at this moment. Enju peered in behind him.

"Oooh...a bit too dark though. What, are you so ashamed you pick the darkest one?! Don't you wanna see~?"

Rentarou sighed deeply and didn't move, though spiritually he felt himself cast his eyes upward. God, if you even are still up there, give me something to help do this...that is what he felt like saying... however, whether there was something up there or not...Rentarou did not actually do it. He had lost faith in that a while ago now. He strode in without preamble, making the others skip a bit to keep up with his sudden move.

He paused again as he saw a flash of red.

The dirty, blonde head slowly resurfaced again, showing him glowing red eyes. Another brunette one and still another platinum blonde one peeked after it, eyes glowing like rats in a sewer. Cursed children. He blinked. So did they.

An audience.

He didn't want one right now.

"Don't you all have somewhere to go?"

His voice was slightly harsher than he meant it to be, but it still breached kind. It more sounded like he had a sore throat than anything else. They blinked again. Staring. He opened his mouth to say something else, but they scattered when Enju and Tina decided to walk from behind him. He looked down at the pair.

What? They had no idea they were going to scamper like that.

"Oooh now I only have Tina as a witness! Hmph."

She was still holding his gun, as he refused to take it whenever she made motions for him to.

He was not going to hold that.

Not with the news he had to tell her. It would feel to much like a commandment. He finally decided to break the pattern and stop her talk of confession.

Maybe some part of him had wanted to keep her happy for just a few minutes longer.

"Enju. I didn't come here to tell you something like that."

...but you can't live a lie. Not forever you can't.

His tone stopped her leer and she morphed into something more serious.

It was still a pout though.

"What is it? A mission?"

That was another thing, he'd have to take her...them both...off missions. He could not risk it. He would not be ending their lives in the middle of fighting Gastrea. No.

Let them go to the park or watch Tenchu Girls...

"No. Actually I don't think..."

Suddenly, Rentarou heard Enju stop walking. He heard Tina crash into her and stagger before grabbing the other girl to steady herself. He turned back to look at them.

Quite instantly, the girl who knew him and could read him well, well...finally read him. She had been trying to jibe him, trying to make him talk, to stop him being so closed off without realizing WHY he was closed off. It wasn't nerves.

It wasn't something fun.

His face was set and blank, calm. His body emotionless, his voice did not shake...but he reeked of sad.

Sad and angry and unfair and fear.

She couldn't understand how she could identify fear and sadness as a smell, or how she knew Rentarou was soaked in it.

But she knew it was true. Her eyes looked up and caught his. So...sad.

She took a step back, straight into Tina.

Sad.

Needles.

Fear.

Numbers.

Unfair,unfair,unfair!

Parks? Peace? Play?

No. Guns, Gastrea...

Purple Blood.

Black Bullets.

Enju began to shake. Tina was still gripping her, so she shook too.

Shook with the force of Enju shaking her.

Numbers.

She knew. Rentarou could tell by her face that she knew. She shook her head, still keeping eye contact the whole time.

He didn't shake back.

"Rentarou. How high?"

No answer.

"Rentarou...how high?"

Damn it, stop just looking at me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell...me...

"Tell me..."

He looked away from her.

"Ren-"

"47.4%"

That number. That number...

It was...it wasn't.

It was.

It couldn't.

It could.

Before Enju could even fully process what that number even meant to her, a bang blocked out her senses.


End file.
